Beer: Reviews & Ratings

Amber ale, or sort of IPA. Its in the style, its higher than average IPA, and so its above average bitterness for sure than your local British empire beer. Pours medium yellow, with some off-white head. Some citrus taste. Very drinkable, a bit of ageing helped.Above average mouthfeel. (285 characters)

This poured out as a copper color with some minimal head. There wasn't any lacing on this one at all. The smell was earthy and really didn't have much of a hop aroma to me at all. The taste was the same way, it was mostly on the malt side and not even close to having enough of a hop bitterness in my opinion. The mouthfeel was kind of on the flat side. Overall this beer was really disappointing. Very surprised at how unimpressive this was coming from a brewery who usually makes a killer IPA. (495 characters)

, orange tinted honey colored amber being presented in front of me. Very hazy, with the cloudiness no doubt due to the unfiltered nature of it. A nice white head of foam, perhaps two fingers high then came over the top and settled down gradually to just a thin film of lace. Very nice appearance I would have to say. Some decent carbonation could be seen trickling up from the bottom and a good amount of side glass lace was involved as well.

The aroma was pleasant, not as strong as I would have liked, but still pretty decent. There was a nice floral hoppiness, somewhat muted hints of orange and lemongrass with a touch of pine. Decent malt base was apparent as the aroma of bread came through nicely. The flavor followed much of the same, owing that nice light floral hoppiness, but never having enough of it to really push it all the way forward. Nice little bite of bitter on the back of the tongue, and a slightly fruit finish, with apples coming through very clearly, especially in the aftertaste. The Mouthfeel was a little thin, maybe a touch watery, but had more then decent carbonation. (1,099 characters)

My first stab at the BrewDog line of beers.Poured into a imperial nonic a clear bronze with a fluffy two finger white head that settled into a soapy-like mass.Big English malt and hop aromas,sweet biscuit intertwined with leafy/herbal hop notes with a tinge of iron.The flavors to me are dominated by English malt up front,lightly sweet and biscuity with that light iron/metallic presence,the hops come late with a herbal,"green" smack.If there was such a thing as a IEPA this would be it,pretty good. (501 characters)

Why is this still being sold at Bocktown for top dollar it's an English IPA, the label doesn't say what it is. I have a buttery/not hoppy ale from Scotland. WTF? Best before 8/16/10 Pours deep semi clouded apricot amber with a cream head forms fine bubbled with even lacing. Aroma has stale hops with hints of cardboard and caramel malt hidden amongst the old hops. Flavor brings on hints of butterscotch and spicy herbal hops, not bad actually. A strong pine bitterness almost resinous like amongst the faded hops there's still some strong hop bitterness and flavor. Not green but in this english style IPA the hops have acted as a natural preservative, this is probably closer to what the original was like. Mouthfeel is dry with bitterness medium bodied ale, any American IPA I've found this old is undrinkable and I don't feel this way about this offering. Overall impression I need to try this fresh but this beer is decent a solid EIPA. I will try more Brewdog because everything else I've had has been solid. (1,015 characters)

The beer pours a nice amber color with a thick frothy offwhite head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is decent. It has a complex malt aroma of pale, Carapils, and bisquit malts along with a mild hop nose that balances the aroma nicely. The taste is good. It has a smooth, malt centric flavor with a solid hop taste in the finish. It's got a fresh hop taste, but nothing over the top like most American IPA's. Instead, the malts provide excellent character and appropriate balance. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a good drinking beer. It's nothing exceptional, but it's full of flavor and easy drinking even at 7.1%. (673 characters)

A: pours a much darker hue than both Punk and Hardcore IPA - dark reddish amber in colour, coming with perfect clarity, mild carbonation and a thin layer of off-white foamy head.S: like Hardcore IPA, the aroma bursts with complex tropical fruits - green guava, sweet pineapples, star-fruits, passion-fruits, plus pink grapefruits, rendered by both hops and fruit esters, while a close sniff reveals the presence of biscuity malts and nectar-ish sourness. Refreshing and remarkably juicy-fruity, without any trace of alc. actually, while the maltiness seems to be much milder on the balance T: the interesting foretaste of tropical fruits, grapefruity hops and nectar is ever so juicy, then gradually hop bitterness sets in, leading to a long and semi-spicy chewy finish that is pretty high on alpha acid but relatively low in terms of hop flavour. It's also in the aftertaste that the sound toffee-ish maltiness makes a belated presence, helping to reach a balance with the chewy mouthfeel.M&D: impressively bottled, the carbonation is only lively where it's needed, against a medium body and pleasantly light (not as imposing or heavy as Hardcore IPA) flavour profile. I've had Punk IPA on cask which is absolutely sublime, while I'd tend to imagine this one on cask can match Punk's performance or fare even better, due to the understated yet firm presence of the malt elements. At 7.1%abv., I simply fail to notice the alc. content - a vivid witness to the craftsmanship! Highly enjoyable. (1,595 characters)

Poured into a chalice a nice golden orange color, some carbonation, nice little fizzy off-white head, with some sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, very slight hop, some citrus. The taste is malty, some hop notes, sweet, bitter, some citrus. Medium body. Drinkable, a tasty brew, but was expecting more. (359 characters)

750ml bottle purchased as a single from Julio's, Westboro, MA. Batch 012, best before 8/16/10.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1/4" light beige head over the slightly cloudy dark amber brew. Head is quickly down to an uneven layer of bubbles, with sticky slow-falling lace. Aroma is sweet and lightly of earthy hops. Taste is sweet upfront, lightly citrus in the middle, and closes with the earthy bitterness. Mouthfeel is soft and smooth, and drinkability is pretty good. Not quite the cutting edge in-your-face that I was expecting, but a good brew. (565 characters)

Mouthfeel is full of lingering hop bitterness and malt like a typical IPA. Feels British in character.

Let's see, easy to drink and feels like a British IPA that is a bit stronger than usual in flavor. American hops and British malts more like it. Something like that. I'm obviously lacking in geography. Regardless, try it. It's not their best effort though. (645 characters)

The taste is first bitter. However, the bitterness fades quickly, leaving room for sweet flowery notes with hints of white currant, tobacco, unripe raspberries and old-fashioned butterscotch. Medium body. The aftertaste got some alcohol, toffee, hints of coffee candy and dry flowery notes. Some harsh hops and hints of lecture. Tobacco and pelargonium leaves in the finish.

The carbonation is medium strong, the small bubbles smooth and long-lasting.

A quite nice IPA, however I think it is more American/New World than English. I had a problem with the harsh dry notes that probably emerges from the dry hopping. (890 characters)

Pours a cloudy gold/light orange body with two finger frothy head that quickly dies. A mild honey/sweet maltish smell along with floral hops. Taste is more of same as this lighter-bodied beer goes down easy, dangerously easy that is. Light sweet malts like honey, caramel along w/ a breadiness and tea leaf note plus floral and bitter hops combine for a mild, easy to drink session beer. Not complex or groundbreaking, but just a nice easy to drink beer that I could have anytime. (480 characters)

A: Pours a copper reddish color. A two finger, bubbly white head forms. The foam recedes in a second, and leaves light lace. S: Floral and grassy hops up front. Light citrus. Sweet caramel. Doughy and biscuit malt. Really well balanced, as an English IPA should be.T: Light citrus with a strange bitterness. Rough and grainy malt. Dry moldy wood. Light smoke. Not bad, but odd.M/D: A medium body with crisp carbonation. Not hard to drink. Though the ABV catches up with you.

A pretty good attempt at an English IPA. Well balanced. There is nothing wrong with this, it just does not do it for me. Still, something that is worth a try. (637 characters)

In a pint glass this beer was an orange/amber color. It had a medium off white head, and a fair amount of lacing. Sweet malt aroma, very floral, and a bit of citrus. I caught more grapefruit in the taste, some pine, and a nice malt backbone. Slightly oily mouthfeel, balanced. Nice beer. (287 characters)

Fairly bright orange pour. Limited white head, disappears quickly. Aroma not overpowering with hops, some malt, must and citrus/pear. Malt and citrus fruit is present with nice balance to the piney hops. A little smokeyness to the bitter finish. Does not linger too much either. Nothing overpowering and quite drinkable, yet not outstanding in any way. The suble burnt/smoke is a nice quality. Worth trying. (407 characters)

Pours a brown color with honey hightlights, a rather small and whispy head that dissipates into a light ring. Aroma is of toasted malt, fruity, caramel, and a light floral hop. The taste starts off with a bready malt, has a weird sour spiciness, honey, mineral water and some herbal notes. The hop flavor has some tropical fruit notes, piney with a touch of resiny bitterness. The brew has a moderate body with semi-soft carbonation; starts off sweet but finishes bitter. A malty AIPA for sure, though not overly so. Seems like a dirty AIPA since there are quite a few flavors from the malt. The hop profile is nothing special. A unique take on an AIPA. (653 characters)

I've had a few beers from this brewery and have been quite impressed. This one was not a let down either. The beer is a very clear amber color. The head is white and soapy, but it doesn't last long at all. The aroma has a very piney, citric (grapefruit and orange peel) aroma...lots of hops in this one. It's not one-sided, though, it also has a decided roasted and bready malt character. Good balance in the aroma (as well as the taste). The taste is predominantly bitter, with a great blend of hop and malt flavor. There's a little caramel flavor. Moderately sweet. Very firm mouthfeel and a medium body. The long and lingering finish is quite bitter. Good beer. (664 characters)

This brew pours a murky light apricot hue with decent carbonation that leaves behind a creamy two finger head that stays and leaves some nice lacing,the aroma is a combination of toffee/caramel malts,fresh green apples and piney hops and lots of them,it has a medium bodied mouthfeel which is a tinge stickyish and leaves tastes of passionfruit,peaches,lychee,toffee and finishes with a bittersweet tinge thats more bitter than sweet,overall a nice drop without being a standout and i know this brewery is capable of way more. (526 characters)

With all this news about BrewDog, I decided to try some of their beers out. (Marketing worked?! Actually, I have thought about buying their stuff before, and now that it showed up at my local store, I figured I'd give them try)

This bottle is larger than the one in the photo, 1 pint, 6.4 fl ounces. No batch #, best before 8/16/10.

Pours a nice bright and clear orange color with a solid white head.

Aromas are of brewed tea, cereal grains, and hints of citrus.

Flavors are good, and not overpowering. Some brewed tea up front, as well as soft creamy and toasted malt flavors. Finish is a bit dry, with an earthy hop bite.

Mouthfeel is nice and full, pretty smooth, but not overly heavy.

Drinkability is good. Pretty solid English IPA. I like how the malts and the hop flavors are nicely balanced. Pretty good stuff, I'd happily drink another one of these. (863 characters)

Pours a remarkably frothy head, off-white and long-lasting. The liquid is a lightly hazed bronze color, and only small, thin wisps of lace are left on the glass.

Aroma is very much to style, but of course with the usual BrewDog twist. (Wouldn't be a BrewDog brew if it didn't have some kind of twist in the structure.) The nose receives a nice dose of musty, buttery, semi-sweet toffee-like malt, with a little bit of butterscotch coming in as well. Hop presence is merely subtle, with the malt being more upfront than a typical IPA, and there's your twist. A malt-forward IPA. Great!

Flavor brings everything in that could be expected from the aroma, although it's a bit more bitter, even leaning on the metallic/steely side of bitter. Not in a bad way. Lotsa grapefruit buried under the malt. Everything is nicely balanced and earthy. Malt sweetness remains toffee-like and slightly burnt-tasting. Hops are grassy, citrusy and bordering on astringent. Butterscotch remains from the aroma, and the hops exert a nice green snap throughout the finish. With all that, it's the malt that remains the most impressive feature, as with the aroma. The malt serves as a savory, fairly complex anchor in what is a pretty big-tasting beer, never veering into the waters of messiness or, ironically enough, chaos.

Feel is a light, airy sort of thing, not thin or watery but certainly having the kind of incredibly easy glide that makes it too easy to drink too quickly.

I always enjoy the esoteric, even existential ramblings on the BrewDog labels, and I'm a definite fan of these guys in general, all their boundary-stretching and button-pushing is a good thing as far as I'm concerned. Chaos Theory is true to style, yet one that takes the road less traveled anyway. Nice work, fellas, this is intriguing. (1,801 characters)